Peter Netjes is a location manager for well known Dutch and international film productions, not the least of which were Zwartboek and Ocean’s Eleven. When it comes to sustainable filming, he certainly has some pointers on how to make change happen.
‘As a location manager, my main job is to make sure that there is access to water, electricity and sanitary facilities on set. Another thing I’m very familiar with is the amount of waste we produce. You have your regular day where there’s about forty crewmen walking about, and that produces over fifteen filled trashbags a day. But sometimes you also have extra’s working, not to mention the waste coming from the set, which means even more trash is thrown out. And you know where most of that trash comes from? Catering: plastic bottles,
plates and cutlery. That’s why I think a great way to reduce that would be to switch to reusables. Let everyone have their personalised mugs with their names on it!’ Peter also tells us that when someone once suggested that the crew and actors should try to have their breakfast at home to save time and energy, people thought this was an outrageous idea. But when you think about it, it’s not such a bad idea at all! He also thinks that change comes from within: the department should have a vision when it comes to sustainably and involve everyone equally to make it happen. ‘The challenge is to change what’s familiair, to create new and better habits.’